Thune says mass shutdown firings don't "have to happen"

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said that the White House's threatened firings if a government shutdown proceeds don't "have to happen" if Democrats sign onto a GOP plan to keep the government open.

The big picture: Still, Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), don't seem to be budging and are largely dismissing the Trump administration's warning to prepare for mass shakeups to an already unrecognizable federal workforce.

Driving the news: "They're playing with fire, and they know it," the Republican leader said on NBC News' "Meet the Press." • He did not directly answer whether he supported mass firings of federal employees if the government shuts down, but said, "it doesn't have to happen." • He continued, "I'm very comfortable with the position tha